1947 Movies
Dark Passage
Dir: Delmer Daves Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall This is a brave movie, because you don't see Bogart's face for the first hour of the film. It is a noir thriller that keeps our star in first-person perspective, in shadows, or under plastic surgery bandages...and it's kinda brilliantly handled. The story is fine, with a falsely accused, escaped convict under pressure from every direction, and a beautiful woman trying to help him for a reason he does not understand. The twists and turns are interesting but the star is the chemistry between Bogart and Bacall and that good old Bogart machismo. Few actors have ever commanded a screen the way he does. My favorite parts of his films are just when he converses with people. He is magnetic. B+ |
Dead Reckoning
Dir: John Cromwell Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott I sound like a broken record...but I honestly can watch Bogart read the phonebook and be entertained. I'm always saying it...but his charisma, his voice, and his ability to portray being the smartest and most suave man in the room is absolutely amazing. The direction is stale and the story is really simple in this film (Captain and Sergerant on their way to reward the Sergeant the Medal of Honor...he turns up dead...mystery ensues). But even besides Bogart...Scott is wonderful as well. She is gorgeous, had a sultry, magnetic voice, and has a real bewitching presence. These old Bogey movies are really their own genre. Its all about style and attitude and I can't get enough of it. B |